Karen Nutter, who was evacuated from the Big Thompson Valley, reacts Friday evening during a slide show of flood damage. She was attending an evacuee meeting at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland. The Larimer County Sheriff’s office held the meeting in coordination with federal, state, county and local agencies, and charitable organizations.

LOVELAND — Larimer County evacuees, mostly from the Big Thompson Canyon, came to the Budweiser Events Center on Friday evening looking for answers.

Their questions ranged from how to find out the condition of their homes, to whether they have power and phone service, to “Why can’t I throw my backpack on and hike up to my house?”

Officials gave them some specifics and lots of encouraging words.

The meeting opened with a slide show, narrated by Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith, showing washed-out roads and rushing water in the canyon.

Cheers went up when he showed photos of the “handmade” road near Storm Mountain and an improvised bridge built from fallen trees and lumber near St. Malo church.

Each speaker — representing either the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the Larimer County government — praised the survivors’ resiliency while urging patience with what county recovery manager Suzanne Bassinger called “a long journey you didn’t buy a ticket for.”

“We have hundreds of people to help you, but recovery is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. We know, we’ve done it,” said Bassinger, who was hired a year ago to manage the High Park fire recovery.

Once the questions began, audience members began to show impatience with the lack of access to their properties.

“Resiliency — we live that every day,” said Chris O’Brien, pressing authorities for an answer to whether he could hike in to his Storm Mountain property so he can winterize.

The U.S. Forest Service will allow credentialed property owners to cross its land to get to their homes, Kevin Atchley of the Forest Service said.

For people who can’t get to their cars, Bassinger said they should check with their auto-insurance agent before making a claim with FEMA. But an insurance representative said that a claims agent will have to verify damage before proceeding with a claim, something that might be hard to do if homes and cars are inaccessible.

“FEMA is here to assist you in the start of your recovery,” he said “Doing business with the federal government is never easy, but we’re here to help the process along.”

Ashley Mohr of the Colorado Department of Transportation told the crowd that contractors are already on the scene in many areas and crews should have U.S. 34 in Loveland open this weekend. In the Poudre Canyon, it will take a couple of weeks to get one lane restored, she said. The department has issued a request for proposals for U.S. 36 from Lyons to Estes, and is working on timing lights in more urban areas to relieve congestion.

Loveland resident Tesa Vassar came to the meeting hoping for a timetable on FEMA’s operations.

She has not been home since the morning of Sept. 12, when she left for work during a rainstorm, just as the nearby Big Thompson River began an overflow that eventually swallowed her property.

She is waiting to see whether her house is deemed safe. Her big fear is that officials will give it a red tag — deeming it uninhabitable and preventing her from cleaning up and making repairs.

“We just have to wait,” she said. “We can’t do anything.”

Another woman had to leave her animals behind. “We have a horse, sheep, cats, dogs, chicken, rabbits. I need to get them out,” she said. The Larimer Humane Society is working on an animal rescue plan, as well as hay and food drops for stranded animals.

One man wanted to know if he could take friends back in to help winterize his house, and Sheriff Justin Smith said he would work privately with him on that. The sheriff expressed concern about making too much information available — to potential looters and the simply curious — about which roads are open.

Although the forest in the Storm Mountain area is officially closed, Paula Baty worries about hunters on her property. The division of wildlife will be checking licenses and restricting access to the area, she was told.

Andrea Vitello was airlifted by helicopter from her home on Storm Mountain on Friday. The roads are completely washed out in the area, and she has no way back.

Like a lot of people in her neighborhood, who turned out in large numbers Friday evening, she wants to return before the bad winter weather starts.

She was in the process of insulating her place for the snow season when the flooding interrupted her.

She hopes FEMA can procure residents access to existing Forest Service roads or recreational paths while the highways are being rebuilt.

“We didn’t lose everything like a lot people, but we need to get back soon,” she said.

The Salvation Army: Help those affected during the days ahead and during long-term recovery. The Salvation Army uses 100 percent of your disaster donations in support of local relief operations. To give, visit imsalvationarmy.org or call 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769) and designate “Colorado Floods.” You may also text GIVEHOPEIM to 80888 to donate $10 to The Salvation Army. Donations by mail may be designated “Colorado Floods” and sent to:

The Salvation Army

P.O. Box 60006

Prescott, AZ 86304

Red Cross: To help people affected by disasters like these floods, people can donate by visiting redcross.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or texting the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Contributions may also be made by visiting ColoradoRedCross.org.

Foothills United Way: The Foothills Flood Relief Fund is responding to the impacts of the flood. Organizers expect to use this fund for immediate relief as well as longer-term recovery in Boulder and Broomfield counties. The Fund is accessible online at unitedway foothills.org/floodrelief.

St. Vrain Flooding Relief Fund: Proceeds from the St. Vrain Flooding Relief Fund will go directly toward recovery efforts for the Longmont community. Donate online at longmontfoundation.org or by calling 303-678-6555.

Safe and Well: Family and friends can search a list of those affected by the floods who have registered themselves as “safe and well.” Search or register by going to safeandwell.org.

Larimer Humane Society: If you are in a flooding area and need assistance with your animals, visit larimerhumane.org, or call 970-226-3647, Ext. 7 (Animal Protection and Control).

The Boulder Humane Society: Available to accept animals needing shelter for those evacuated in Boulder County. For immediate assistance, call Animal Care and Control at 303-441-3333 or visit boulderhumane.org.

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